A Maryland doctor was sentenced Monday to more than nine years in prison in a $3.1 million health care scheme fraud involving Medicare, Medicaid and other programs.
Paramjit Singh Ajrawat, 60, owned and operated a Greenbelt pain clinic with his wife, also a doctor. Prosecutors say the couple defrauded federal health benefit programs by allegedly performing less expensive procedures and falsely billing for procedures with higher reimbursement amounts.
In other cases, the couple filed claims for procedures that either hadn't been performed at all, prosecutors say.
For example, according to prosecutors, the couple submitted claims that Ajrawat had performed nerve block injections with the use of an imaging guidance machine, but he hadn't owned nor used one of those machines.
Ajrawat, of Potomac, was sentenced Monday to 111 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $3.1 million.
"This lengthy sentence sends a powerful message that doctors who defraud health insurance programs will be held accountable," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
Ajrawat was convicted in September of health care fraud, two counts of making a false statement related to a health care program, four counts of wire fraud, and other charges.
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Ajrawat's wife, 57-year-old Sukhveen Kaur Ajrawat, was also convicted in the case. However, Sukhveen Ajrawat died Feb. 1.
